Don’t Wanna Be An American Idiot (In Congress)

Members of Congress are often criticized for what they do — or rather, what they don’t do.

But what about what they say and, more specifically, how they say it? It turns out that the sophistication of congressional speech-making is on the decline, according to the open government group the Sunlight Foundation. Since 2005, the average grade level at which members of Congress speak has fallen by almost a full grade.